


star, moon, sun (the moment we transcend everything)

by princepixel



Series: extraordinary (our hearts are connected under the same sky) [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Crack, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Humor, M/M, Magic, Nature Magic, OT3, Polyamory, Psychic Abilities, Runes, Spells & Enchantments, Witches, bad snow puns, cameos by red velvet bc thats what i was put on this earth for, donghyuck is a theater kid, i didnt complain abt marks eyebrows are u proud of me, jisung is a fool, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 15:46:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15392094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princepixel/pseuds/princepixel
Summary: "oh, hell no!" mark shrieks, ducking as a frosty beam hits the wall where his head was moments ago. he lunges to the side, "i'm not cut out to be a superhero! i don't have the bantering skills!"in which mark wants to do something sweet for his two dates, renjun can do more than just talk to flowers, and donghyuck’s vision comes true…eventually.





	star, moon, sun (the moment we transcend everything)

**Author's Note:**

> MARKRENHYUCKZENS HELLO!! i was absolutely floored by all the kind responses on the first part in this series omg u guys are so sweet i uwu'd. yall sure know how to motivate someone!
> 
> it's probably better to read the first one before this but you don't necessarily have to in order to understand whats going on! also goddamn i will build this ship tag with my bare hands if thats what it takes. also this is unedited im so sorry for any mistakes
> 
> hope u enjoy! operation: markrenhyuck date

"first date, first date..." mark mumbles to himself as he speed walks down the street, arms pumping enthusiastically, "first date! can't be late for a first date."

 

mark checks his phone nervously. yep, saturday, ten fifty-seven. he and donghyuck had decided to take separate routes to the cafe for their first date with renjun-- donghyuck had to leave for rehearsal earlier in the morning for a play one of the theaters in town is putting on. stupid talented boyfriend!

 

mark had wanted to join the stage crew and help build things, but those directors clearly can't see artistic talent when it hits them in the face. (or, more accurately, knocks over three cans of paint and accidentally ruins all the set pieces that had already been built. it's not mark's fault they let him loose in a room with delicate objects.)

 

"hm...what do you  do for a first date?" mark muses. this really shouldn't be that hard; despite his awkwardness, he's been on plenty of first dates. like, at least three. and he's already been on a first date with donghyuck. he shouldn't be nervous. cool and confident: that’s mark lee! mark promptly drops his phone from his very sweaty hands.

 

mark is extremely very nervous.

 

"just a first date!" he wrings his hands a bit. "just a first date with two very cute...very snarky...very...flirty...dudes. this is fine." oh, man. it’s totally not fine.

 

"you can't gay panic on this one, mark, you have to do something impressive!" mark says firmly, smacking himself on the forehead. the woman on the phone walking in front of him turns around and gives him a chilly glare. he shrugs apologetically at her. he needs to make some sort of a gesture. what can you even _do_ to impress two powerful magic users?

 

mark runs through the standard first date checklist. chocolate? nah, it's early in the morning and they're heading to a cafe. hmm...he doesn't have time to pick them out cute little gifts or cheesy cards. is renjun even the cheesy card type? ugh, probably not. (though, he knows donghyuck likes the cards that sing to you and are hilariously inadequate for the occasion-- like buying a ‘congrats! you’re two!’ card for someone’s sweet sixteen. hm, maybe later.)

 

mark pulls himself out of the pedestrian traffic and taps a finger to his lips. what else...oh. ooh! he zeroes in on a friendly looking shop across the street. the cheerful sign propped up outside the building reads "flowers of osaka". 

 

flowers. flowers are a great thing to bring to a date! it's quick, simple, casual, and in, like, every romance movie, so it must be a good move. right?

 

the clock reads eleven o'clock-- they've agreed to meet at eleven thirty. the cafe is a little ways down the street, probably a little under a ten minute walk. mark can totally do this. in and out, no sweat.

 

with one hand, mark readjusts the bag he carries. the contents jangle comfortingly. inside the bag is a pouch with a few rune stones. some are carved into delicate swirling wood, some are carved into bone. these are primarily luck and protection runes, to help combat mark's chronic clumsiness and his tendency towards bad luck. mark considers writing out some wisdom runes on his skin to help the upcoming flower selecting process, but decides it isn't worth it. plus, he's on a time budget. he can do this all by himself! adult mark: activated.

 

mark makes it halfway across the street and one foot in the doorway of the flower shop before he remembers that he's going on a date with someone with actual  _ nature magic. _ is it redundant to bring flowers to a boy who can literally sprout them from his hair at will? probably, but donghyuck will be there too. perhaps he will appreciate them?

 

mark scoffs at his internal monologue. he suspects that donghyuck would sooner eat the flowers right in front of mark than acknowledge the sentimental value behind them. 

 

(at least, he wouldn't say it to mark's face. donghyuck would probably save a petal and press it in his scrapbook of markhyuck mementos that mark  _ might _ have stumbled upon last time he was at his apartment. oh how he loves his snippy, secretly soft boyfriend.)

 

tough guy mark cracks his knuckles (he winces when one cracks harder than he expected, but he doesn’t think anyone notices) and shoulders his way into the quaint little shop. this is no problem! mark stares out at the rows and rows of assorted flowers and realizes he doesn't know the first thing about flowers. this could prove very embarrassing.

 

he walks a few paces towards the middle of the store where some sunflowers lie. mushily enough, their sunny, cheerful color reminds him of donghyuck. he browses for a while, unsure what type of flowers are appropriate for the occasion. mark is barely fluent in english (his first language), how is he supposed to know the language of flowers? he's just beginning to brush through the flowers in the adjacent row when he hears a rattling, and a crash erupts near the back of the store.

 

mark freezes by the petunias.  _ oh, please don't be a big problem, please don't be a big problem, _ he pleads to the universe.  _ please just let me have this date in peace. _

 

"put the flowers in the bag!  _ now! _ " 

 

evidently, the universe is not taking requests today. the petunias look on sympathetically.  _rest in peace, dude,_  they say.

 

"nope! nope nope nope  _ not  _ getting involved in this, thanks." mark makes a beeline for the door. normally he is very diligent and a model civilian and loves helping people and all, but come on,  _ really?  _ there are two very cute boys waiting for him and he'll be damned if they kiss before he gets there.

 

mark flinches as a flowerpot crashes next to his feet. he hears a faint "fuck, sorry!", but he's more focused on getting the hell out of this situation. "who the fuck even robs a flower shop?" he grumbles. he reaches the door at last, but a loud crackling sound echoes throughout the shop, and suddenly everything is several degrees colder.

 

"you will not defy me! you will bow to my demands! i am!...i am...um, i am the ICE MASTER!" a voice bellows.

 

okay, so maybe not this isn't a normal robbery after all-- unless robbers usually come up with catchy nicknames for themselves in the middle of a heist? who even knows.

 

mark jiggles the doorknob, to no avail. he shoves his shoulder against the door, but recoils quickly. the door is well and truly frozen, the locking mechanisms probably encased in ice. well, fuck. he turns back to the scene. looks like he's not getting out of this. cool, mark can roll with this. 

 

(this is a lie. mark can absolutely not just 'roll with this'. he's practically allergic to the word adapt.)

 

"let's calm down now, okay?" mark tries. the boy responsible for this whole fiasco whips his head back, bright blue hair flipping dramatically like he's on a shampoo commercial. he looks stressed as all hell, and worryingly young even with his lanky, awkward build. his gangly limbs keep flailing everywhere, firing icicles at random.

 

mark checks his watch. eleven twelve. "for the love of god, i really don't have time for this. can i go?" he gestures out the door. the cashier only looks mildly startled at the slushy ice and water flying around the room, but the poor customer in the corner looks sufficiently terrified. her feet are covered in ice. try as she might, she can’t wiggle free, and she passes out from the stress of the situation.

 

_ do not engage!  _ bells are ringing in mark’s head, but he sidesteps an icicle on reflex, shoving it away with a weak burst of wind from a fading mark on his shoulder. 

 

whoops. so much for not engaging.

 

"wait-- i want absolutely no part in this!" mark yelps as beams of frost are shot at his feet. unfortunately, avoiding the attacks seems to be worsening the situation, as the look on the boy's face grows more and more pained. mark twists as an icicle narrowly misses his side. oh dear.

 

eleven fourteen.

 

"fuck!" mark rummages around in his bag, frantically searching for his rune materials. a splash of slushy ice water catches him in the face. he splutters . "not cool, man! it’s a big day! do you know how long i spent styling my hair this morning?" the fact of the matter is that mark truly only spent about ten minutes on his hair, but for a boy who usually rolls out of bed and declares himself ‘presentable enough for children to not cry on reflex when they see me’, it’s a pretty big deal.

 

"hm? getting... _ cold _ feet?" 

 

"oh, hell no!" mark shrieks, ducking as a frosty beam hits the wall where his head was moments ago. he lunges to the side, "i'm not cut out to be a superhero! i don't have the bantering skills!"

 

his hands fumble through his bag again. motherfucker, his pouch is  _ not _ in his backpack. of fucking course something like this would happen on the day mark forgets his protective runes at home. a memory crosses his mind: the little drawstring bag sitting on his desk, open, contents scattered everywhere after a long night of experimenting with spells. goddamnit!

 

told you mark had shitty luck. he probably was one of those stupid kids who opened a bunch of umbrellas inside or something.

 

mark barely escapes another shot, the edge of the frost just catching his ankle. the temperature in the shop has dropped again, and snow is starting to drift down from the ceilings. there is a thin layer of ice covering the shop's tile floor.

 

mark shivers, slipping and sliding all over the icy floor. the slippery tiles actually work in his favor for a quick second, carrying him far away from where a particularly sharp looking icicle lodges itself in the wall. unfortunately, it also deposits him directly into the pot of sunflowers. sorry, donghyuck.

 

"do you want me to just... _ chill _ out?"

 

_ we’re really doing this movie villain back and forth thing? what’s next, is he going to start monologuing? _

 

"oh my god you've really got the wrong guy. i'm not good with these witty comebacks!" mark trips over a random snowman built in the middle of the chaos, "THIS IS HYUCK'S THING, NOT MINE!" 

 

his bag slides just out of reach. mark scrambles after it on his stomach, dodging a frantic splash of water. plain water now? what the hell is this guy even doing? it looks like he doesn’t know either, seeing as he almost freezes himself with the next blast. mark doesn’t know whether that should be comforting or not.

 

the boy steps on the mouth of mark's bag, and mark can already envision the dramatic movie scene: the boy leans down, sneering in mark's face before kicking him across the floor. he crushes the magical contents of mark's bag, sprinkling the remains of the uncarved stones in front of mark's face as he lies there, paralyzed by ice. he traps the surrounding patrons in unforgiving ice blocks that will never melt, and slinks away with half the flowers in the shop, cursing an eternal winter upon the city (and especially mark) except...

 

the boy's feet promptly fly out from under him as soon as he steps on the bag, sending him crashing to the floor right next to mark. someone obviously wasn't looking where he was going (or firing).

 

"hi?"

 

mark stares at the boy, gaping, before he kicks his legs back and gets them back underneath him. he smacks the boy away and snatches his bag, darting behind a shelf. for everyday runes like luck and protection, mark usually carves them and carries them with him. for extra strength or if he needs a quick rune on the go, he had developed a special ink formula to write and activate them on his skin. after months and months of narrowing down the recipe, he hid the finished product in a calligraphy pen that should be somewhere in this stupid cluttered bag! if he could just reach it...

 

_ slam! _

 

looks like ice guy found him. he rounds the corner a little too enthusiastically, crashing straight into the wall. this is the clumsiest super villain mark has ever seen (not that he's ever actually come into contact with one before. he's just assuming that they'd be a little cooler than this-- no pun intended).

 

"i'm considering rebranding. what about, like, frostbite?" the boy wheezes through shallow breaths, eyes wild. mark would feel bad for the freaked out boy if he had any time to think between dodging blasts of ice. this is getting old.

 

"um," says mark, "why frostbite...when you're all bark..." he sweeps a leg out trying to catch the boy's legs and knock him over, but he ends up just kicking a display of daisies. quickly, he steadies the display and makes sure none of them fall, "and um, no bite?"

 

"okay, that wasn't too bad." the boy nods. mark's head is spinning. what the fuck is even going on? all he wanted was a cute fucking date.

 

mark thinks about the pretty curve of renjun's lips when he smiles. he thinks about how donghyuck's eyes sparkle when he's talking about something he's passionate about. he thinks about the way the flowers constantly ringing renjun's head are just as expressive as the boy underneath them. he thinks about the glow of donghyuck's skin after he's successfully helped someone overcome a trauma or contact a loved one who has passed on.   
  
he's missing all that to trade useless banter with a wannabe batman villain? what a fucking rip off.

 

(notably, mark fails to think about the ongoing battle. stupid gay tendencies.) 

 

lost in his thoughts, mark doesn’t notice the icicle lodged deep in his bicep until after the boy in front of him shrieks.

 

“oh my  _ god! _ ”

 

okay so maybe mark isn’t cut out to be a superhero, but damn this kid isn’t cut out to be a super villain either.

 

mark grunts, doubling over and grasping at the slippery rod buried in his arm. he tugs it out with a loud gasp and then immediately remembers that that is exactly what you are  _ not  _ supposed to do in a situation like this. oops. his arm starts bleeding profusely.

 

“are you gonna want this back?” mark wheezes, bloody icicle still clutched between his fingers, “or can i keep it? centerpiece for the dinner table or something.”

 

"shit!" the boy yells, "i'm so sorry, i didn't mean to do that!" mark has an inkling that the guy is just trying to freeze mark in his place, but he has hilariously terrible aim.

 

"that’s great news! can you stop, then?!"

 

"good question! now if you would just-- ugh, stay  _ still _ \--"

 

another blast has mark sprinting around the corner for cover. clearly the answer is no. he keeps trying to chase after mark, but whoever gave this boy ice powers must have forgotten to teach him how to navigate over actual ice, because he looks like a stumbling baby deer learning to walk. it’s not doing much for the whole intimidating super villain thing.

 

mark is staring at his gushing limb blankly when it hits him. in a pinch, blood will do the trick in binding a rune. it won’t be super powerful, but by god it’s something. he dips two fingers into the blood dripping from his stinging arm and starts scribbling the markings on his forearm. the next time ice boy lashes out at him, he twists and shoves his palm forward, flames extending from his fingertips.

 

he doesn't have the strongest energy, especially when it comes to elemental magic, but it's enough to melt the blast coming his way. "ooh, now we're in business." mark says, opening and closing his fist appreciatively. popsicle boy wants a superhero movie fight? well, he’s gonna get one.

 

eleven twenty-three. mark mentally rolls up his sleeves and gets to work properly now, blocking and twisting and pulling off flexible moves he didn't know he could even do (his shoulder pops painfully. okay, maybe he can't actually do all of them). he's melting, attacking with wind to try to knock the boy over, deflecting with shields, and casting luck spells at random. when will this thing be over?

 

"i! have! cute! boys! to!  _ kiss _ !" mark shouts between blasts. god, some people can be so fucking inconsiderate!

 

"what's wrong, can't take the heat?" popsicle boy jeers.

 

mark stops, frowning. flames crackle at his fingertips. "isn't that my line?"

 

~~snow boy ice master~~ frostbite? stops too, positioned with his back facing the front door. mark is plastered sort of up against the counter. "oh. you're right. sorry?"

 

suddenly, they hear muffled shouting from outside the shop. it sounds almost like…

 

“fuck.” whispers popsicle boy.

 

glass shatters. both mark and popsicle boy whirl towards the door, ducking to avoid the shards. a silhouette stands in the doorway, framed against the light of the outside. their fists are clenched, eyes ablaze.

 

“that’s  _ my boyfriend _ ! only  _ i’m _ allowed to fuck with him!”

 

donghyuck? oh, _god._ mark crosses himself quickly and mumbles a quick prayer. the prayer is mostly for popsicle boy.

 

donghyuck bursts into the shop, anger clear in his eyes. he throws out a hand, and every icicle in the air immediately halts, clattering harmlessly onto the ground. 

 

“whoa, whoa, duckie dearest what the hell are you doing? be careful!”

 

“i’m saving your ass, dipshit! love you!” donghyuck calls. he lunges forward and grabs ice boy’s wrist, sending sharp, loud thoughts through the connection that opens up between their minds. the boy clutches his forehead and shrieks.

 

“ _ ow! _ get the fuck outta my head! he’s playing beyoncè, but like--” the boy grunts, clawing at his temples, “ _ really fucking loud beyoncè!” _

 

“well why don’t you just... _ snow _ home, then?” donghyuck taunts, breathing heavily. he’s seething.

 

from the floor, mark cheers weakly. “i told you hyuck was better with the witty stuff.”

 

ice boy breaks out from donghyuck’s grip, fingers sharpening into icicles and clawing at the other boy in a panic. donghyuck is thrown from his mind. his teeth are chattering from the encounter-- talk about a brain freeze.

 

more footsteps thunder on the tile floor of the shop.

 

“are you actually kidding. i  _ just _ scored a date with not one! but  _ two _ cute dudes, and you’re gonna ruin this for me? i don’t fuckin think so.” a new voice echoes in the room. all the flowers in the vicinity seem to stand at attention. “there’s... _ snow _ way i’m having this fall apart.” oh man, even the newbie’s got the clever snow puns ready. now mark is just embarrassed. for shame, mark, for shame!

 

suddenly, the stems of the sunflowers in the display next to ice boy grow and warp, stretching like putty and slithering over the edges of their container. they grow gnarled and deadly looking, wrapping around the boy's wrists, tangling between his ankles, and winding (loosely) around his neck. the flowers snap and retract back to their positions. with a grunt, eyes flying wide open, the boy flies back with them, strung up by plants like clothes hung up to dry. vines tug his arms behind his back, locking his wrists like handcuffs, and bind his ankles. the vines happily secure themselves around the bottom of the shelf.

 

renjun dusts his hands together proudly. "hi, mark. nice to see you again."

 

donghyuck pops out from behind renjun, kicking the glass from the door into a little pile. "you're late to our date, asshole!" he turns to renjun as if noticing him for the first time. "oh, hey! it's spooky renjun!" renjun gives him a little eyebrow waggle and an appreciative look up and down.

 

“nice pants.” figures donghyuck would make sure to pick out the jeans that make his ass look really nice. mark is always really weak for those jeans. those are the pants that make him agree to watching mulan for the six hundredth time for movie night just because it’s donghyuck’s favorite movie.

 

mark looks at his watch. eleven thirty-six. his legs give out. " _ sorry _ ." 

 

renjun and donghyuck share a look, heaving an exasperated sigh before both boys rush at him. renjun smooths a hand over mark's forehead, while donghyuck runs his hands over mark's cheeks. "are you hurt? feeling dizzy? did you black out?" they bombard him with questions. donghyuck supports mark's back as they help him up.

 

"no. yes, a little bit? and um, don't think so." mark holds a hand to his head. "i'm good, really." donghyuck sighs, relieved, and nuzzles into his boyfriend's neck.

 

"can you stop being a dumbass for, like, even twenty minutes? i mean, god. i only left you for a morning!"

 

mark chuckles. "tell those assholes of theater directors to take me back then."

 

donghyuck's nose wrinkles. "and have you knock fluorescent orange paint all over the set walls?  _ again _ ? i don't think so."

 

renjun quirks an eyebrow at the exchange, looking interested in the story that lies behind it, but a groan from a certain bed of flowers redirects his attention. he stalks over to the area where ice boy should be tied up. his vines loosen a bit, both to make the boy easier to identify without flowers covering every inch of his body, and because (despite his irritation about the botched date), he doesn't want to kill the dude. at least, not yet. "now who the  _ hell-- _ "

 

a muffled shriek erupts from the flowers. a weirdly huge hand bats renjun's arm away. a sunflower is positioned firmly in front of the suspect's face. renjun scowls and wrestles with the boy for a few seconds before he wrenches away the bright flower. his eyes darken in anger at the sight in front of him. the boy gulps.

 

" _ oh my gosh i am so sorry please don’t kill m _ \--"

 

" **_PARK JISUNG!_ ** " 

 

there, tied up in a bunch of sunflowers after attacking renjun's almost-boyfriends, is the wannabe-boyfriend of zhong chenle, who is renjun's best friend and roommate. park jisung-- renjun's other roommate and practically his little brother.

 

“it’s a funny story, i swear.”

 

renjun changes his mind. he very much wants to kill the dude.

 

"wow okay haha this looks real bad doesn't it. hooo boy um, renjun i am _so_ sorry i didn't mean for--" jisung flinches back as renjun grabs him by the collar and hoists him up out of the flowers. renjun is quite the force, considering jisung has probably a good half a foot on him.  renjun drags jisung by the ear over to the rest of the group, throwing him into the middle. there is only silence as the trio takes in the boy. renjun starts to pace in circles around them.

 

jisung waves weakly at mark. "hey." 

 

"hi popsicle boy." mark waves back. 

 

"stop being friendly with the enemy!" donghyuck hisses to mark. mark slowly puts his hand down.

 

“oh, it’s you.” jisung shakes his head like he’s got water in his ears. “i can still faintly hear ‘single ladies’ playing. are you still in my head?”

 

donghyuck snorts. “nope. good song though-- consider yourself blessed by the queen.”

 

“i thought we agreed that you’d stop referring to yourself as ‘the queen’?”

 

“i agreed to no such thing, mark. and i was talking about beyoncè.”

 

renjun’s angry pacing stops abruptly. “what were you  _ thinking _ ?” he growls, hands going for jisung’s throat.

 

“bold of you to assume i was thinking.” jisung wheezes. a smartass even when faced with death by renjun’s chokehold— now that is courage mark can (begrudgingly) appreciate.

 

"you know? he's kinda hot when he's angry." donghyuck whispers to mark out of the corner of his mouth. they both keep their eyes glued on the pair in front of them.

 

"now is not the time." mark says even as he nods his head dumbly. renjun's face is flushed red (but not from one of mark's dumb jokes this time, tragic), and there are various red flowers popping up in his dark hair. a plant slithers up his leg, blooming with soothing looking flowers. the flower around his neck, the stem acting like a choker, gently strokes his jaw. damn, even renjun's plants are worried about him.

 

"hey, doesn't that hurt?" the unfazed cashier, who appears to be the shop owner, asks mark. he gestures to his bloody upper arm. mark jumps-- he forgot that guy was even here.

 

"oh my god,  _ mark!  _ you’re  _ hurt _ ? " the anger immediately goes out of renjun's eyes, replaced by pure concern for mark's wellbeing. he drops jisung like a sack of flour. the plants winding around renjun's legs seem to breathe a sigh of relief as renjun sinks down by mark's side. mark would be touched if he wasn't so focused on the fact that he was probably bleeding out.

 

"um." says mark. "i kind of forgot about it." now that the guy pointed it out, hell yeah it hurts a lot. mark flinches as the guy leans down to examine his arm.

 

“you...forgot you were stabbed by an icicle.” the pretty shopkeeper levels with him a hard stare.

 

“stabbed by a-- _ ooh motherfucker you better pray to every god you know!” _

 

“donghyuck! donghyuck  _ put down the trowel _ !” there’s a scuffling coming from behind them, a flailing of limbs. it sounds kind of like renjun restraining donghyuck, but it could easily be them fighting over who gets to murder jisung with various gardening tools first. either one is quite plausible at this point.

 

mark swallows, remembering what was going through his head when he got injured. renjun’s long, fluttering eyelashes, donghyuck’s soft hand in his. “...i was distracted, i guess.”

 

"wait.  _ yuta _ ?" both renjun and jisung chorus, eyes shining. renjun releases donghyuck, who drops to the floor. renjun gives this 'yuta' guy a big hug.

 

"who's this clown?" donghyuck mutters bitterly from his place on the floor. first cartoon cow characters, now this random ass cashier. man, will things that aren’t mark and donghyuck ever stop trying to steal renjun's heart away? that’s like. their  _ brand _ by now. it’s markhyuck culture.

 

"i used to babysit this twerp when he was younger." yuta rolls his eyes and messes up jisungs hair. the boy splutters, trying to put the strands back in place.

 

"i didn't even recognize you..." jisung says, embarrassment coloring his cheeks.

 

yuta laughs. "yeah, well you've used all those freaky ice moves on me before-- except instead of in a flower shop, it was back when i refused to let you stick forks in the outlets to 'see what happens'."

 

jisung smiles fondly. “good times.”

 

yuta huffs good naturedly at the boy as he places a hand by mark's injury. he grins at mark, and a shiver of warmth runs through mark's body. as it travels, it feels like it repairs every frayed nerve he has. he feels fresh, revitalized. the pounding in his head dims. he looks down to see yuta's hand edged with a pale green light. before their eyes, mark's wound is stitching itself back up, skin neatly sealing up.

 

"healing witch. we make  _ wicked _ good babysitters." yuta says, that powerful refreshing smile still spread across his face. 

 

"thanks..." mark says, gaping at his healed arm. what are the odds?

 

jisung tackles yuta in a hug. yuta giggles, but then dumps jisung onto the ground.

 

"yeah yeah yeah okay cute reunion is cute, or whatever." donghyuck bites, arms crossed. perhaps he’s a bit jealous. this ‘yuta’ fucker has gotten too close to both of his boyfriends. well, his boyfriend and his kind-of-hopefully-almost-there boyfriend. "jisung, you still haven't explained what the hell happened."

 

jisung laughs nervously. "um, well. for starters, i have elemental magic. technically i have control over fire, earth, water, and air and all that cliche stuff, but ice comes the most naturally to me."

 

mark rubs at his face. "okay, so you're a elemental manipulation witch. neat. that still doesn't explain anything. why are you going around acting like some sort of movie super villain?"

 

jisung offers a half hearted shrug, looking thoroughly scolded, "um...teenage rebellion and a significant lack of impulse control? plus below satisfactory mastery of my powers?"

 

“this fucker is just telling me what i want to hear.” renjun crosses his arms.

 

“is it working?” jisung looks up at him with round, hopeful eyes.

 

“kind of. i mean, you aren’t wrong. you have no impulse control and are still somehow prone to tantrums even at the age of sixteen.”

 

“ouch.” says jisung.

 

"okay but like. why a flower shop? why would you lose control in the middle of a  _ goddamn flower shop _ ?" mark asks.

 

the boy pouts, looking genuinely sheepish now. his eyes slide to the left. "...they said they were out of pink stargazer lilies."

 

"what." donghyuck says.

 

"oh my gosh, please don't make me say it again-- this is so embarrassing. those are my crush’s favorite flower, okay? i wanted to surprise him."

 

"your crush’s favorite flowers were out of stock so you unleashed one of your most potent powers, terrorized a shop, and chose the name  _ frostbite _ ?" mark blinks incredulously. teenagers.

 

"was frostbite too basic?” jisung frowns, “i thought it sounded cool, ‘specially for, like, a spur of the moment thing. plus, i had kinda already committed to the role." he gets up and dusts himself off, stretching. "you know, your comebacks really sucked."

 

mark throws his hands into the air. "i didn't  _ ask _ for any of this!" donghyuck pats his back consolingly.

 

"jisung i  _ live _ with you and chenle. you ruined my day...to throw a  _ tantrum _ ...over flowers i could have literally  _ grown for you _ ." renjun's voice steadily rises in anger and volume throughout the sentence. mark and donghyuck shrink back even though they aren't the ones being yelled at. damn, they do not want to get on this boy's bad side.  ~~ it's still pretty hot though. ~~

 

“uhhh...yeah.”

 

"this is so fucking embarrassing." renjun mumbles, burying his face in his hands.

 

red, ruffled flowers start raining from renjun's hair. instead of different types of red flowers, these all appear to be the same. jisung gingerly picks one of the buds up off the floor. "what do these mean?" he asks nervously. renjun isn't listening to any of them at this point. mark rubs his back.

 

"red petunias? hm. it could represent anger, resentment, or...'your presence soothes me.’" the three boys turn at the sound of glossy pages turning. yuta has a book laid open that reads, 'flower meanings.'

 

"you, uh. you don't suppose it's 'your presence soothes me’, yeah?" jisung says weakly, looking at how renjun's fists are shaking. yuta frowns at him pityingly. jisung gulps.

 

"hey, do you think we can pick up one of those books sometime?" donghyuck elbows mark, eyebrows furrowed. yuta winks and slides it their way. donghyuck shoots him some finger guns in thanks.

 

a cracking sound comes from a far corner of the shop, snapping renjun out of his spiraling. the pouring of flowers slows, replaced by confusion on his face.

 

"guys? did we forget something?" donghyuck tilts his head. mark frowns. the cracking grows louder, sounding like...ice splintering?

 

"whoops." says jisung quietly, realization dawning on his face. mark trips on his own feet as he gets up and runs to the source of the sound.

 

"mark?  _ mark! _ god, we've had this talk  _ so many times _ ! this is why you'd die first if we were in a horror film!" donghyuck chases after him.

 

when he rounds the corner, he finds mark standing over a woman lying on the ground. "ohhh fuck."

 

mark's face is twisted up like he's constipated. "what do we do? she's waking up!"

 

the woman is blearily blinking herself awake. her bag is a few inches from her hand, a bouquet of flowers held tightly in the other. her back is flat on the ground, but her legs are bent at the knees, sticking up into the air. her shins down to her feet are completely encased in ice, rooting her to the floor. 'oh fuck' is right.

 

mark hurriedly crouches down by her, a rune on his wrist flashing. flames melt the rest of the slowly cracking ice. 

 

"wow, this looks bad." jisung says, coming up behind donghyuck. “really bad.”

 

"you think?" donghyuck rounds on the boy, but his gaze softens. the boy is half in tears.

 

"donghyuck, could you..." mark waves towards the woman. "y'know. clean this up?"

 

"you're asking me to erase her memory of this."

 

mark fidgets with his hands. "maybe." it would be really bad for word of this incident to get out. while the climate around witches has changed dramatically from a few hundred years ago, magic and witches still aren't well known in modern society. people are usually good about keeping in control and laying low. usually.

 

plus, jisung is young. he lost control of his emotions and panicked worse when he couldn't get things back in order. donghyuck sees the genuine guilt in the boy's young eyes and sighs, rubbing at his temples. "fine. i'll help clean up your mess. just stop looking at me with those big sad eyes!"

 

mark grabs the disoriented woman's hand and helps her up, letting her keep the bouquet. surely yuta wouldn't mind? it's the least they could do. he gently guides her outside, and then leaves the rest to donghyuck.

 

"what's going on?" she asks, grimacing at the killer headache she must have.

 

“well.” donghyuck says. comforting. 

 

he steels himself. boy, this really fucking sucks. he cautiously touches a fingertip to the woman's wrist, closing his eyes as the connection between them opens up. her head is foggy and confused, which sure makes a lot of sense considering the situation. he roots around for a minute in the cloudy thoughts that flood his head, searching for her memory of the incident.

 

the woman's racing thoughts are spread out in front of him like a timeline. eyes still squeezed shut, donghyuck sifts through the information crowding his head. there! it feels like a little bubble between them. if he touches it (mentally, of course), he'll see the snippet of memory play out before him. there's no need to delve into it, however. donghyuck reaches out and grabs at the bubble, tugging and tugging and tugging until the memory crumbles, tasting ash in the back of his mouth.

 

before he gets a chance to separate from the woman, he senses a memory lying just under the other one. the taste in his mouth sours. oh, man. she was buying flowers and pretty gifts for her boyfriend who forgot about their anniversary? yikes. poor girl.

 

"blech." donghyuck sticks out his tongue in disgust as he severs the connection. dissolving memories is nasty work. he lets go of the woman, who stumbles back.

 

"what happened?" she blinks, looking lost.

 

oh. donghyuck didn't create a false memory (it's incredibly exhausting work, and he's already feeling an over-exertion headache coming on from fucking with the memories and brawling with jisung) so there's just an awkward blank spot. man, this jisung kid really owes him.

 

"you fell and hit your head." donghyuck says, frowning sympathetically. it's technically not a lie? he steadies her as she holds a hand to her head. "also, honey? dump his ass. joy treats you like a queen anyways." he pats her on the elbow and sends her on her way. she nods at him weakly, brows furrowed, but she throws the bouquet of flowers in the garbage can as she walks away. sorry, yuta.

 

donghyuck dusts his hands together and strolls back into the ruined shop through the empty doorframe. after a second, he backpedals and flips the sign in the window to 'closed'. perfect.

 

jisung is sitting on the floor. he's got a safety pin in the knee of his jeans, and there are several strings attached to the pin that he's braiding into a bracelet. where the hell he got that, no one seems to know. yuta looks like he's playing rhythm games on his phone, the beat of the tambourine steady and annoying as all hell.

 

"you," donghyuck hisses, jabbing a finger at jisung, "owe me.  _ big time. _ "

 

jisung looks up from his spontaneous bracelet. "how about some free goodies?"

 

donghyuck's eyes narrow. this could be promising. "...keep talking."

 

"well i may just have some connections at sun and moon, the cafe down the street? the one with the really good chocolate chip muffins?"

 

"we co-own that shop, asshole." renjun says but no one is really listening.

 

"sold!" donghyuck gives jisung a hearty handshake. jisung's whole body sort of shakes up and down along with him. he looks a little dazed.

 

"we were on our way there before all this." renjun sighs and waves his hand at the shop. other than the door, the little store is actually relatively undamaged, just a little...frozen.

 

mark runs a hand through his tousled hair. "hey, the point of this morning was to woo renjun, was it not?" he directs the question towards donghyuck, but renjun blushes and scuffs his foot a bit.

 

"indeed it was, my good man." donghyuck nods wisely.

 

“then we can still save it.”

 

jisung’s eyes light up, a slow smile spreading across his face. “hold up hold up--  _ you’re  _ the ‘adorable donghyuck’ and ‘sexy mark’ renjun keeps talking about!”

 

“i did  _ not say th—“ _

 

“hey!” donghyuck protests. “i should be the sexy one!” 

 

“yes!” mark cheers at the same time, “finally, i am the sexy one!”

 

“i did  _ not _ wear these pants today just to not be appreciated as the sexy one.” donghyuck whines, gesturing at his skinny jeans. damn. he has a good point.

 

“don’t worry, duckie. we can both be the sexy one.” mark says, patting donghyuck’s shoulder consolingly. they  _ are _ very flattering jeans, after all.

 

“oh, mark. you always know what to say.” donghyuck stares into mark’s eyes and bats his eyelashes dramatically.

 

from somewhere behind them, yuta gives an over-exaggerated yawn. "alright lovebirds, i've got to patch up the shop, so. scram!" he makes a shooing motion with his hands.

 

renjun herds the gaggle of boys out the door, shooting a grateful smile to yuta. yuta dips his head at them, then closes the shattered, empty door frame for some reason. formality's sake, probably.

 

renjun stretches, arms to the sky. "who is even watching the shop?"

 

jisung chews his lip. "chenle..."

 

renjun's arms drop immediately. "you let chenle run the shop.  _ alone _ ."

 

jisung winces. "he told me he could handle it."

 

"and you _believed_ him? last time we left him alone in there he turned all the furniture into lizards."

 

jisung grins. "yeah. that was pretty awesome."

 

renjun grabs mark and donghyuck's hands, turns on his heel, and marches in the direction of the cafe. "so many _fucking_ lizards." he mutters to himself. jisung trails behind them.

 

"he's holding our hand." mark whispers. holy shit. holy shit! he's getting his hand held by two cute boys. mark has died and gone to heaven. he looks happily down at his hands. he always knew those early sunday mornings at church would pay off someday.

 

"i know!" donghyuck whispers back. he’s equally excited but trying to play it off because, you know. cool guy donghyuck.

 

they come to stop in front of a cute little cafe sandwiched in between a privately owned bookstore and an antiques store. the front has a pretty purple ruffled awning, and the bright sign hung on the door boasts, 'sun and moon!'. the smaller text underneath the nameplate reads, 'zhong chenle's concoctions and confectionaries.' 

 

"concoctions?" mark wonders out loud. he doesn’t have to wonder for long.

 

"morning! are you good fellows here for some wicked cool magic potions?" a boy with bright purple hair chirps, bursting through the doorway. he wiggles his fingers excitedly, little fireworks exploding from his fingertips. like, actual fireworks. it’s cute but mildly terrifying as colorful sparks fly everywhere.

 

"hi chenle." jisung is blushing like an idiot.

 

"disappearing dolphin carnival boy!" mark exclaims, "it's you!"

 

"does chenle greet everyone like that?" donghyuck asks jisung, completely ignoring mark's cryptic ass statement. they've been together for three years, he's pretty used to the weird stuff that comes from dating someone with absolutely no brain to mouth filter.

 

jisung shrugs. "he's not very subtle."

 

chenle excitedly ushers them inside the shop. "i could just  _ smell _ the magic on you!"

 

"well that's kind of concerning." mark tilts his head, not actually looking too concerned. "actually, that's probably just donghyuck's new perfume." donghyuck grins. he knew the sunset guava colada body spray would be a good choice for today. it’s sparkly.

 

renjun leads them to a little booth tucked away in the corner of the cafe. mark and donghyuck sit on one side, while renjun takes the other. the cafe is decorated with a purple and blue color scheme, but as mark squints at the wall beside him, it looks like the wallpaper is cycling between shades of the colors. it’s slow enough not to be immediately noticeable, but still. what the fuck.

 

"did chenle, like? enchant the fucking decor?" mark asks. jisung was right; this guy isn't subtle at all.

 

"yeah..." renjun sighs like he's aging twenty years just talking about it, "chenle specializes in potions. this cafe is like a little side project of his, but it's also a front for his potions shop. he gets a little...wild with the spells sometimes." he kicks at the base of the table, which is starting to grow legs. "if people ask, he usually just tells them he's super advanced with technology."

 

"and they believe that?" donghyuck asks. the man in the painting above them blows him a kiss and then resumes his pose. renjun shrugs.

 

"he's a charming guy." renjun drums his fingers on the table. 

 

"anyone want pastries?" jisung says, coming over with a platter of apple tarts and some mugs of hot chocolate. he lays the brunch out on the table, giving a little bow before retreating. renjun's eyes track him.

 

"they're probably going to spy on us." renjun says, jisung ducks underneath the front counter, hitting his head as he goes. nice, jisung. real sneaky. two tufts of hair pop up from behind the counter nearest to their table-- one purple, one blue. renjun is tempted to throw his chancla at them, but he's quickly distracted by mark stabbing his entire fork into the apple pastry, completely destroying it. the filling oozes sadly out the sides. and thus, chensung live another day.

 

"oops." mark gives up on the pastry and instead makes for the mugs of cocoa. he burns his mouth because of course he does.

 

"i have a question," renjun starts. mark pales. that phrase is a one way ticket to anxiety city. "why were you even in that florist place? you should've been on your way to the cafe." renjun tilts his head. his fork twirls aimlessly in the air. 

 

mark's shoulders rise to his ears, hunching into himself. "iwantedtoimpressyou..." he mumbles into the fabric of his shirt.

 

donghyuck muffles a laugh behind his hand. "mind saying that again?"

 

"i wanted to impress you guys...with a gift..." mark says reluctantly, voice low.

 

"hmmm..." donghyuck tosses his hair, hand cupping his ear. "i don't think i heard that. repeat it again?"

 

"oh, shut up!" mark protests, cheeks flushing an embarrassingly dark shade of red.

 

"well i think it was very sweet--" renjun starts.

 

"ha!" mark jabs a finger at donghyuck, who rolls his eyes.

 

"--and incredibly short sighted. you didn’t need to buy flowers. i mean, i practically have cherry blossoms coming out my  _ nose _ when i'm around you guys." renjun says, voice trailing off nervously at the end.

 

"aww, renjun, is that your way of flirting with us?" donghyuck cuddles up to renjun, gripping his hand tightly. mark does the same. a shy flower wrapped around renjun’s wrist ducks underneath his arm.

 

“unhand me, demons.” renjun blows air through his nose, pointedly avoiding eye contact. he's got pretty winged eyeliner on today, fuck that's so attractive. despite his efforts, the pale yellow flower buds bubbling up behind his ears quickly betray his feelings. donghyuck plucks one and flips excitedly through the leather bound book yuta gave them.

 

“ooh, primroses? for ‘the sweet innocence of young love.’ awww, junnie you  _ loooove _ us!” he croons, hugging renjun’s arm to his chest. renjun shoves him off.

 

“you wanna know what this one means?” renjun asks, digging a hand through his pocket, feigning concentration. he comes up with his middle finger stuck up. “this one means ‘fuck off donghyuck.’ poetic, no?”

 

“aw, we’re already on the cute insults phase. mark, he’s so wonderful.” donghyuck wipes a fake tear from his eye. mark snorts and digs back into the food in front of them. the bickering two do the same. 

 

eventually, mark lays down his fork. his stomach churns. "um, renjun? thank you for helping me out earlier..." he says, chewing on his lip.

 

"you mean saving your ass and finishing the job?" donghyuck supplies helpfully.

 

mark's jaw clenches a bit. this is so embarrassing. he just wanted to impress some cute boys! the universe is totally against him. "yeah. that."

 

renjun giggles. "all in a day's work, dear boyfriend. just part of the job."

 

"boyfriend, huh?" mark and donghyuck latch onto the word immediately, sharing a look of excitement. they look like newly adopted puppies.

 

"i mean...if you'll have me." renjun mumbles, turning his chin away from them in embarrassment. the snarky worker from the carnival and the fiery spirited witch from the flower shop are nowhere to be seen in this moment, just a tiny, nervous boy seeking acceptance.

 

mark and donghyuck coo at him. “of course!” they chorus.

 

“wait are-- are you sure?” renjun asks. he's playing with his fingers. "like.  _ really _ sure? i don't want to...you know. intrude." he motions in between mark and donghyuck, who both look mildly upset. suddenly, mark jolts in his seat, looking frantic. for a single, blinding second, renjun thinks that one of The Gremlins have cast some sort of painful itching spell on mark, but the thought quickly eases. neither of them want to die  _ that _ badly.

 

"i want to show you something. donghyuck? can you open a link between the three of us?" mark asks. it seems to be something they've never tried before, judging by the look on donghyuck's face. donghyuck hesitantly takes one of mark's hands in his, reaching for renjun's as well. they all close their eyes. within a few seconds, renjun can feel a weak link opening up between them. it isn't anything as vivid as when donghyuck peeked into his mind at the carnival, instead it's like a hyper awareness of the two boys in front of him. he can faintly sense their emotions pushing against his own, their presence occupying a corner in the back of his mind. it doesn't feel oppressive or overwhelming. rather, it feels comforting, soft,  _ complete _ , like filling a two person sized gap renjun didn’t know he had.

 

_ "are they conducting a sèance? without me?” _

 

_ "shut up, chenle!" _

 

mark's hands tighten around theirs. without warning, the bond is flooded with warmth and affection. renjun feels like he's being showered in love from all ends. some images flash across his vision: the three of them snuggling on the couch, marathoning movies until ungodly hours of the morning, the three of them dressing up in ridiculously fancy suits and going out for dinner at applebee's just because they can, the three of them walking their rowdy dogs through the park, the three of them revisiting renjun's carnival and helping donghyuck cheat at the fair games, the three of them being happy-- _ together _ .

 

mark sits back as donghyuck cuts off the connection, unable to hold it for very long after their earlier escapade. he looks satisfied. "well? do you see now?"

 

"you have a very...convincing argument, i’ll give you that."

 

mark and donghyuck lean forward each planting a hesitant kiss on renjun's cheeks. "was that okay?" mark asks quietly. renjun answers by leaning over the table and kissing them on the cheek as well. once he sits back, both of them cup their cheek fondly, beaming. the three of them sit there quietly for a few moments, basking in the warm glow of affection.

 

"hey injunnie, you're getting flower petals in your cocoa!" calls a voice.

 

"i wouldn't be talking if i were you,  _ frostbite _ . you're still in deep shit." renjun bites, his flustered demeanor distracting from the promise of murder in his voice. he's trying to pick out cherry blossom petals from his drink, but it's futile. donghyuck snickers and waves a hand over to chenle, requesting another round of hot chocolates.

 

“now that we’ve gotten that settled, can we talk about earlier? like, come on, mark. you  _ really _ don’t have a superhero persona prepared? it’s like i don’t even know you.” donghyuck clutches his hands to his heart like the damn talented theater kid he is.

 

“jesus christ you’re never going to let me live this down.” mark states. donghyuck nods sympathetically.

 

“you brought it upon yourself.” donghyuck pats him on the back. renjun snickers.

 

"oh, and mark? you really could've just gotten us those cheesy cards that sing. those are so cute!" renjun beams, resting his chin in his hand. mark groans and buries his face in his arms. 

 

he really could have used those damn luck charms.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> notes (short this time i promise lmao): despite how clumsy he is, mark is incredibly smart! while runes dont require a lot of natural magic, they're hard to master because of how particular they are with the strokes. one wrong swipe and you've got a mark that acts entirely differently. they're also difficult to set-- mark's calligraphy pen is an idea completely brainstormed and carried out by baby mark through years of tweaking and many, many explosions. thats why the fight was so difficult on marks end, you need to be really focused to get them to work properly, and the more powerful ones are time consuming and finicky. also ya cameos by red velvet bc god i love those gorls so much. i feel like there was more but i forget so ill edit this if i remember. also whoever thinks nature powers r weak are Cowards look at my boy out there beating up jisung ugh <3
> 
> fhvfhvbfh i feel a little nervous about this one tbh im not sure how well i executed it ? but ugh i just love these three so mUCH pls love them thanks for coming 2 my 8k long ted talk. hope you liked it! this is definitely not the last you'll see of this universe hehe
> 
> also i made a twitter for writing wOOO! come scream 2 me abt renjun @pixeljunnie <3 also i just realized on my last few works ive put the wrong curiouscat JFNJFKS im so fucking sorry omg i have the memory of a walnut anyways feel free 2 ask questions abt my aus/request stuff/Yell At Me
> 
> curiouscat: pixinoa  
> tellonym: diotima  
> twitter: pixeljunnie


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